The present invention relates to improvement of a vanity case, and more particularly to improvement of a latch-unlatch mechanism of a synthetic resin-made vanity case having a receptacle member and a cover member hinged with each other and arranged to be latched by snap engagement of an elastic latch tongue formed on one of the members with a protrusion on the other member.
In known vanity cases of the abovesaid type, the elastic latch tongue and the protrusion are formed integrally with the cover and receptacle members by plastic molding. The elastic tongue and the protrusion have to be formed very precisely in dimensions; otherwise, the vanity cases would accidentally open when unwanted due to the weakness of the engagement between the latch tongue and the protrusion, or if the engagement therebetween is too strong, a relatively large force has to be exerted to open the cover member, causing a trouble to the user. Accordingly, when molding the cover and receptacle members, the utmost attention has been paid to the accuracy of the dimensions of the latch tongue and the protrusion. However, quite a number of vanity cases are rejected as defective owing to improper engagement between the latch tongue and the protrusion.
With ordinary vanity cases heretofore employed, it is relatively troublesome to open the cover as the user usually pries open the front edge of the cover with the thumb of one hand while holding the front edge of the receptacle with the thumb of the other hand. And if the engagement between the latch tongue and the protrusion is unduly strong, a strong force has to be exerted to disengage them, often resulting in the contents of the case dropping out therefrom because of sudden opening of the case.
In order to provide an improved vanity case, it has been proposed to employ a slider element which serves as an unlatch member for disengaging the latch tongue from the protrusion. This proposal has successfully settled the above defects to the considerable extent. In such a vanity case, however, it is necessary to provide a cavity in either one of the receptacle or cover member for receiving the slider element, which inevitably makes above and below the cavity thin portions easy to break. Also, the slider element has been found not to operate so smoothly when it is not exactly fitted in the slender cavity.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vanity case which is free from all the above defects and can easily be opened with a light tough thereon.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vanity case which is very simple in structure and assembly, and is reliable in operation.